Shoe novelty



All@ 4, 1942- l.. cAssr-:RD 2,291,791

SHOE NOVELTY Filed April 28, 1941 Snventor Louis Caserd Wd-M Gttorneg YPatented ug. 4, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE NOVELTY Louis Casserd, Seattle, Wash.r Application April Z8, 1941, Serial No. 390,721

(Cl. Sti- 8.3)

11 Claims.

My invention relates to a novelty device for attachment to or incorporation in a shoe, sandal, or slipper, particularly such as are worn by girls.

While my invention may be most popular in shoes used for stage dancing, or for costume dress, such as of the gypsy or Spanish type, they may also be incorporated in shoes for sport or even street wear. Briefly my invention contemplates a device which will be carried by the shoe, which will make a sound, such as a rattle, a, jingle or a tinkle, as the foot is moved in walking or dancing.

Thus such invention may be a rattle device housed within the shoe bottom, such as in its heel, or it may be a jingle, such as a little bell, overlapping suspended spangle plates, or metallic discs slidable loosely on a rod, carried by or mounted in the shoe bottom or heel. The term bottom is used in this specification to distinguish from the shoe upper, and includes, for example, the shoe heel. These various devices may, f course, be differently supported upon or housed within the shoe, and may be of dilerent size or construction, depending upon the eiect desired. Moreover, two or more diiferent types of such devices may be incorporated in the same shoe, or one type may be provided for one shoe and a different type for the other shoe of a pair. It will be understood that a large number of arrangements and combinations of such `devices, as well as individual types thereof, may be employed in conformance with my invention. y

The principal object of my invention, therefore, is to provide upon a shoe a noise-making device which will produce a pleasing sound, preferably of small volume and of more or less musical nature as the foot moves. On the other hand it is a further object to provide such a device which can have maximum movement, and hence which will produce the loudest sound for a given amount and type of foot movement, especially so that the sound will be quite audible during normal walking.

A further yobject is to support such a device upon the shoe in such a'manner that it will not interfere with walking, or with dancing gyrations. It may be partially or even wholly concealed within the shoe, for example being housed by the shoe heel. It is a further object to provide such a device which, if desired, will not only produce a pleasing sound, but which will be supported in an exposed position, and be decorative in character so that its movement, as well as its sound, will attract attention.

Various structural characteristics of my device which have been found most suitable for accomplishing my purposes will be described in detail hereafter. Representative types of devices have been illustrated in the drawing, but it will be understood that various modications within the scope of the appended claims may occur to those skilled in the art.

Figure l is a side elevation View of a shoe heel with parts broken away, illustrating two types of my device applied to the heel which may be used either conjointly, as shown, or each may be used separately. Figure 2 is a transverse section through the heel of Figure 1, taken along line 2 2 of that ligure.

Figure'3 is a side elevation View of a shoe carrying a diierent type of noise-making device.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section through a shoe heel, showing another form of jingle inserted in it, while Figure 5 is a View of the jingle on line 5-5 of Figure 4, showing it removed from the shoe.

Various types of jingles, such as little bells, pieces of metal, or loosely supported discs, similar to those on a tambourine, may be employed which can be mounted on the shoe in diierent ways.

In Figure 1 the bottom of a shoe S .is provided with a cavity l within which is secured a little bell Ill, which may have a screw shank I I screwed intotlie shoe heel at the base of the cavity. The mouth of the cavity, as shown, is located in the side of the shoe heel, but, if preferred, it may be concealed by locating it in the front face of the heel beneath the shoe instep. The cavity has been illustrated as of cylindrical shape because such a hole can be bored in a thick part of the shoe bottom, Sllch asin the heel, after its fabrication. If built up of several parts, however, each piece might be preformed, as by notching, to leave the cavity when they are assembled, in which case the cavity mightl be of rectangular or other shape in cross section. The size of the cavity with relation to the bell may also be varied, but ordinarily it will be little larger than necessary to receive the bell readily. The types of bell employed and the manner in which they are supported within the cavity may, of course, be dif'- ferent; for example, the bell might be pivotally suspended from the roof of the cavity. It is preferred, however, that the bell shell lil be rigidly supported so that the striker ball l2 will move within and impact the shell as the shoe is moved.

The jingle may be in the form of dangling metal strips 2 pivotally supported for swinging action, such as by a loop 2U loosely encircling a rod 2| carriedL by the shoe. Such dangling metal strips may also be housed within a cavity in the shoe heel and supported from its roof for swinging into impact with each other, with the shoe heel, or with some other sounding member in the cavity. Preferably, however, such strips are formed as spangle plates and supported in exposed locations, generally parallel ,to the sides of the shoe bottom. Several .rows of. such spangle plates may be supported one above the other on a downwardly tapered heel in stepped fashion, as

shown in Figure 2, so that ordinarily the plates hang out of contact with each other. In each row, however, the plates may overlap laterally to conceal the heel comple-tely, even covering the opening of cavity I, if desired, the supporting rods 2| passing across such opening. These plates, then, will swing back and forth upon the rods 2i in a direction toward and away from the shoe heel, striking one against the other to make a jingling sound. The tone produced will depend upon the kind of metal used for the plates aswell as upon their size, shape and thickness. These` plates will preferably have polished or brightly colored surfaces so that as they are swung by movement of the shoe they will twinkle or flash reected light to attract attention, thus serving as ornaments to produce an effect similar to spangles used upon clothing.

The shoe S oi Figure 3 likewise is provided with a cavity I in its bottom, such as the heel, preferably of cylindrical shape, and which may or may not extend completely through the heel from side to side. Again the particular location of the cavity is largely immaterial, but for this form its vertical cross section is preferably circular. Within the cavity is received a tumbler 3 containing a couple of small shot 30 or similar small objects. As an alternative "construction several tumblers, perhaps of solid construction, could be inserted in the cavity. The cross sectional shape of such a tumbler should be circular, the tumbler being either spherical or cylindrical so that as the shoe is moved it will roll upward and downward in the cavity I, as well as being shaken Within it. Such rolling and bouncing makes a noise, but in addition relative movement of the small shot 30 or equivalent objects within the tumbler 3 produces the rattling noise of its repeated impact. Where several tumblers are provided they will strike not only each other but the walls of the cavity I to produce sound, in addition to the shot rattling within them. Any suitable means, such as bars 3l, may extend across the opening of the cavity toy retain the tumbler or tumblers within it. Such retaining means may be of an attractive shape and design for decorative purposes.

A different type of jingle is shown in Figures 4 and 5, again adapted to be housed within a cylindrical shoe bottom cavity I, as in the shoe heel. In this instance a number of separate discs 4 are loosely threaded on a rod 40, the opposite ends of which are secured to and supported by a frame 4I. Preferably the Width of this frame is such that it will be held in the cavity by a press fit or may be received in grooves or keyways formed in its walls. Additional or substitute means for securing the frame in the cavity may be utilized as the desire or necessity arises'. In any event it is preferred that the rod 40, as shown in Figure 4, be mounted in a position inclined rear- Wardly and downwardly when the shoe is in normal attitude, or substantially perpendicular to a radius from it to the shoes line of flexure. In this disposition the Vsudden iiexing of the shoe during walking will cause the discs to slide by -their inertia along the rod 4 during upward movement of the heel, and as the heel is set down the discs will slide downward into contact with each other to make the jingling or tinkling sound, as in a tambourine.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a shoe, a shoe bottom having a cylindrical cavity with its axis disposed substantially parallel to the lower surface of the shoe bottom, sounding means wholly received within said cavity and movable with respect to said shoe by normal movement of the shoe in walking to produce sound, and means for retaining said first means within said cavity.

2. In a shoe, a bottom having a cavity therein, a hollow shell received completely within said cavity, and a striker member housed within the coniines of said hollow shell and freely movable therein, forjingling impact therewith by normal tilting movement of the shoe in walking.

3. In combination with a shoe, a plurality of dangling strips arranged in overlapping relationship, and pivot means supporting each of said strips from the shoe for movement relative to the shoe effected by movement of the shoe.

4. In combination with a shoe, a plurality of horizontal rows of dangling metallic strips, said rows being superposed one above the other in overlapping relationship, each strip being pivotally supported by its upper end from the shoe for swinging into striking engagement with other strips by movement of the shoe.

5. In a shoe, a shoe bottom having a cavity therein, a rod received in said cavity and inclined rearwardly and downwardly, and a plurality of metallic discs loosely threaded on said rod for movement with respect to the shoe and relative to each other for mutual striking contact effected by movement of the shoe during walking.

6. In combination with a shoe, a jingle including a plurality of overlapping metal plates, and means supporting said plates from the shoe for free movement of each relative to the shoe and into jingling impact with another plate by normal movement of the shoe in walking.

7. In a shoe, a rod secured to the shoe bottom, a plurality of plates threaded on said rod in overlapping relationship, each plate being freely swingable relative to said rod, Withinlimits, to strike another such plate by movement of the shoe.

. movement of the shoe in Walking..

10. Ina shoe, a shoe .heel .having a cavity in an outer uprightside thereof, a jingle received wholly within said cavity, and a plurality of dangling, metallic strips depending from the shoe heel over the entrance to such cavity, adjacent strips overlapping both vertically and horizontally to completely conceal such cavity entrance, said `jingle and said stripsbeing movable for jingling impact by normal movement of the shoe in walking.

1l. vIn a shoe, a shoe bottom having a cavity therein, a tumbling shell freely movable with respect to the shoe bottomwithin the connes of said cavity, means within said shell movable thereagainst by such freetumbling of the shell within the cavity, to produce a noise, and means for retaining said shell within said cavity.

LOUIS oAssERD. 

